Two Sunday crashes leave four dead

Published: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 9:05 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 9:05 a.m.

Four people were killed in a pair of Sunday wrecks that occurred about an hour apart on different stretches of the same Terrebonne highway, State Police said.

A Raceland resident died about 8 p.m. when his truck ran off La. 182 in Gibson and hit a tree, police said.

A motorist from Lockport crossed the center line of La. 182 in Coteau and hit another car head on, killing himself and two others, police said.

In Gibson, Tommy Lebouef, 34, wrecked after failing to negotiate a curve in the highway, police said, and was pronounced dead at the crash site. He was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and was the only occupant.

Lebouef was not wearing a seat belt, and police say they suspect he had been drinking.

In Coteau, a motorist from Lockport crossed the center line of La. 182 near Coteau Road about 9 p.m. and hit an oncoming car, killing the other driver and one of her passengers, police said.

Juan Martinez-Silva, 56, of Lockport, was headed west in an 1996 Isuzu Rodeo when he veered and hit Belinda Leonard, 48, who was driving a 2000 Cadillac Deville.

Martinez-Silva, who was not wearing a seat belt, and Leonard, who was wearing a seat belt, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

One of Leonard’s passengers John Steve, 34, of Raceland, died en route to the hospital. A second passenger, Natasha Rogers, 28, of Gray, was taken to the hospital with severe injuries, police said.

Steve was not wearing a seat belt; Rogers was belted in, police said.

State law requires everyone in a car or truck to use age-appropriate seat belts. While not all crashes are survivable, proper seat belt use can improve your odds of surviving a crash or escaping with less severe injuries, State Police Troop C spokesman Evan Harrell said.

“Taking the time to buckle up every trip and every time is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash,” he said.

Of the five people involved in Sunday’s crashes, two wore seat belts. One of those survived.

Both wrecks remain under investigation. Blood alcohol tests, required by state law, are pending.

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